According to the British newspaper The Birmingham Mail, the Staffordshire Police have come up with a new punitive measure for drivers who are caught driving without insurance. The constabulary has seized several uninsured vehicles as part of Operation Impact, a local drive to crack down on vehicle crime and anti-social behavior associated with vehicular activity.

Under the new police powers, two cars have been taken to the wrecking yard and crushed. Uninsured motorists are being warned that “your car could be next.”

This is the first batch of vehicles to be seized under the program, which follows a spate of incidents across the area in recent months.

Officers are warning that car crushing is not the end of the issue for uninsured drivers. They also face a loss of license and a fine – and all this without a court hearing. It seems that the locals are fed up with vehicular hooliganism and one way of getting at the issue is going after uninsured drivers.

“Operation Impact has been a highly successful initiative which sought to address issues of local concern, and provide residents with a pleasant, clean and tidy environment where they feel safe and are safe,” said Sgt. Nick Maingay. “Uninsured drivers would do well to heed this warning.”

The news item did not say whether the miscreant motorists were allowed to clean out the trunk. Anyone with information about uninsured drivers can call Staffordshire Police on 08453 302010.

Scuba diving will affect how much you pay for term life insurance. However, how much it raises your premium depends on several factors.

When applying for life insurance you will be asked if you engage in recreation or commercial diving. If yes, you’ll be asked:

• How often do you dive
• What is the average depth of your dives
• What is your maximum dive depth
• Where do you dive
• Are you PADI certified
• Are you open ocean certified
• Do you engage in technical dives

The answers to these questions will help the agent determine what term life insurance rate class you qualify for. Most life insurance companies will give you the second highest rate class if you dive 75 ft. or less. Some companies will charge you standard or preferred if you dive 100 ft. or less. If you dive 130 ft or less, most companies will charge you a preferred or standard rate with a flat extra.

In order to make sure you receive the best term life insurance rate, be sure to shop around using a brokerage firm like AccuQuote. A licensed agent that deals with more than one company will be able to let you know which company will give you the best life insurance rate.

There are a lot of life insurance companies out there with many plans to offer. So, which one do you choose? Do you go with your local agent because you know him or do you try to shop around to find the best rate. Well, that depends on you. But keep the following in mind.

Make sure you evaluate the financial strength, performance, and integrity of a life insurance company. Look for a company with a proven track record of financial strength, integrity, performance, and claims-paying ability. And, buy from a company that has a rating of A, A+, or A++ by A. M. Best, the country’s most recognized insurance company rating organization. These letter grade ratings are not warranties of an insurer’s current or future ability to meet its contractual obligation, but rather opinions based on the available facts about each life insurance company.

You may also want to check these other third party services:

• Standard & Poor’s
• Moody’s
• Fitch
• Weiss

The insurance industry’s limited antitrust exemption has led to an interesting and convoluted relationship among major insurers, the federal government and the states. While the right to provide some regulation for some insurance rates falls to the states, there is still in many states a constant battle over the issue between state policymakers and industry reps.

In California, the insurance industry spends millions on political campaigns against pro-regulation politicians. In Florida, following Katrina and three years of powerful hurricane seasons they have left the property insurance business altogether. In Washington, New York and Oregon insurance companies have encountered lawsuits filed by state officials over consumer abuse.

Many in the insurance industry feel that less regulation will help consumers by encouraging competition. Perhaps, but not many politicians will make the case for an insurance industry with market-driven rates. Even with regulated rates, the industry receives its own underwriting support from the government in a number of areas.

In Florida, because insurers just up and quit the state after three years of destructive hurricane seasons the largest property and casualty insurer in Florida is now Citizens Insurance, which is a state entity running millions of dollars in the red. If an insurer is licensed to sell auto, life and health insurance should they be required to participate in the downside – insuring property in a storm-prone state?

In Florida, the property carriers exited in favor of a massive government bailout. The insurance companies turned flood insurance over to the government years ago. The entire agricultural sector in this country has government backed crop insurance and for years, received massive payments for NOT growing crops in order to provide price supports. Insurers expect the government to be the underwriter of last resort for earthquakes, for hurricanes and for terrorist attacks. That’s hardly a free market at work.

Well, that depends on a number of things. Do you have someone that depends on you financially? If yes, then now’s not a good time to cancel your life insurance policy. However, if you’re retired and no longer have a need for life insurance and won’t have estate taxes to pay, then you may no longer need life insurance. However, if you’re spouse is still living, you may want to keep the policy in place for her.

Before canceling a life insurance policy because you don’t think you have a need for it, ask yourself these questions:

• Would the death benefit help to replace income the family would need to maintain their standard of living after the death of a wage earner.
• Would the deatlh benefit help to pay off a mortgage loan and other personal and business debts or to create a rent fund.
• Would the death benefit help to create a fund for children’s education.
• Would the death benefit help to pay final expenses, such as funeral costs and taxes.
• Would the death benefit help to create a family emergency fund or a fund for a family member with special needs.

Today we are discussing a disturbing statistic from a heretofore unknown Reliable Source. The Retirement Corporation of America Inc. conducted a survey about individual’s reliance and expectations of Social Security and found that millions of Americans still believe in the promise FDR saw in Social Security when he railroaded it through Congress. The survey revealed “many Americans expect to depend on Social Security as a significant source of income after they retire.”

Twenty-three percent of survey respondents “intend to rely on Social Security as their main source of income in retirement.” This unfortunate expectation may be due to lack of financial education, or it may be all that those millions of Americans expect to have in the pipeline.

Only 31 percent believe their savings, mutual funds or individual retirement accounts will be the primary source of their income. The survey also found 61 percent of non-retired Americans believe they will need to save $500,000 or more by the time they retire; while 59 percent believe that they are likely to reach their savings goals.

That seems like an awful lot of serendipity about retirement expectations. For openers, the life expectancy in this country is pushing 80, and many millions of us live beyond that. Due to the mixed blessings of medical advancement, many of those final retirement years are spent with diminished physical or mental capacity. That’s why long term care insurance is going to become a necessity over the next decade – savings goals can melt away when one retiree in the household goes into the constant care mode.

It seems that a comfortable retirement requires not only savings but a life insurance policy with annuities built into it, a long term care policy and all the bells and whistles Medicare can provide. Social Security has become an anomaly and people that expect to live on it will be living in poverty.

In my opinion, the best way to buy term life insurance is through a brokerage firm that deals with multiple life insurance companies. This will allow you to shop around without having to do all the work. It’s free to you and easy. All you have to do is visit one of the many life insurance brokerage firms online, like AccuQuote, and request a free life insurance quote. You’ll get instant online quotes. If you’re confused about how much or what type to buy, the licensed agents at these companies will help answer any questions. In addition, they know the ins and outs of not just one company, but many. So, let’s say you’re an occassional cigar smoker. Well, you don’t want to be charged smoker rates because that could be 2 – 3 times more per year. These agents will help direct you to a company that is a little more lenient with cigar smokers (depending on how often usage is, etc.).

Before you simply choose your local agent, shop around. I’m confident you’ll be convinced that the best way to shop for term life insurance is with a brokerage firm once you do. Good luck!

If you thought that 46 million Americans without health insurance was a benchmark for a dysfunctional health care system, consider this: 108 million of our citizens have no dental insurance, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The reason, as always, is cost. According to a 2005 report by the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) individual dental HMO insurance averages $192 per year, individual dental PPO insurance is at $288 per year and individual indemnity insurance comes in at about $372 per year.

Increasingly, consumers and employers are turning to discount dental plans to obtain the essential coverage they need at a price they can afford. Discount dental plan members pay a low annual membership fee and are granted access to a network of participating providers offering discounts of 10 percent to 60 percent on most dental procedures, including braces, root canals, crowns, dentures, cosmetic dentistry and more on select plans.

The concept is an abbreviated dental HMO; it provides coverage for the more major procedures and leaves the maintenance work to the patient. Short term health plans and student health plans offer similar coverage that focuses on major health issues.

According to the NADP discount dental plans – starting at $79.95 per year for individuals and $129.95 per year for families – are much more affordable than traditional dental insurance. Many businesses are using discount dental plans to offer dental benefits to people that are rarely covered by traditional dental insurance, including retirees, part-timers, seasonal workers and uninsured dependants.

It’s true. Your driving record CAN increase your life insurance rate. Let’s start with some basic life insurance underwriting “rate classifications.” There is preferred plus, preferred, standard, and sub-standard rate classifications.

Although the qualifications for preferred rates vary between companies, generally you must be in excellent overall health to receive preferred rates. There can be no participation in any hazardous activities and there must be no history of drug or alcohol abuse. Preferred-plus criteria is even more stringent. In addition to the above mentioned requirements, you cannot use tobacco in any form.

When it comes to your driving record, some companies will not give you the preferred plus rates if you’ve had more than 1 driving violation within the past three years. Others are a little more lenient and will let you qualify for the best rates if you’ve had 2 or less moving violations in the past three years. The key is finding the right company because again, qualifications for life insurance rate classes vary between companies. Shop around before making a purchase.

With the introduction of consumer driven health insurance, more and more employees find themselves with high-deductible health insurance plans and a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help offset the additional costs. While that HSA looks pretty good at the beginning of the year, it’ll no doubt be gone long before you’ve run the gamut of your yearly medical expenses.

One interesting proposal that’s floating around suggests that having your annual bonus redirected to the HSA is a win-win for both employer and employee. Taking an annual bonus of $1,000 as an example: if it’s delivered in the traditional fashion at the annual Christmas party, your employer will have had to set aside an additional $100-$200 for payroll taxes and other government requirements. You’ll have to pay income taxes on it, so the $1K bonus becomes six or seven hundred bucks or less, as it is taxed as the highest applicable rate.

Now, suppose that your employer deposited that bonus in your HSA instead. Since it is not considered income, your employer avoids his tax responsibilities linked to a bonus and you get a full $1,000 as part of your “tax advantaged benefits. Your employer’s budgeting requirement for office bonuses is reduced, and your tax obligations disappear.

There’s additional impact to your own budget as well. Since you can elect to funnel your own funds through your HSA, you’re actually leveraging your own contributions. So if your employer is dropping an extra $1K into your loss fund, it frees up dollars for other expenses you might have throughout the year, but which had been previously unfunded. This approach makes things like contact lenses, new glasses or orthodontia a little less intimidating because there’s additional tax free funding in place.